Button assembly



Nov. 15, 1955 H. s. VAN BUREN, JR

BUTTON ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 25, 1949 III G l a F a INVENTOR: HAROLD S. VAN BUREN JR,

United States Patent BUTTON ASSElVIBLY Harold S. Van Buren, Jr., Cambridge, Mass., assignor,

by m esne assignments, to United-Carr Fastener Corporatron, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application November 25, 1949, Serial No. 129,210

3 Claims. (Cl. 2490) This invention relates to button assemblies, and has particular reference to a button assembly having an improved method of securing an attaching member to a button body which is formed of brittle material.

In button assemblies in which a button body of pearl or similar brittle material is to be secured to an attaching member such as an eyelet or a pronged ring to enable the assembly to be attached to an article of clothing, it is customary to provide a rim on the attaching member to surround the button, and an inwardly extending retaining flange on the rim to engage the outer edge of the upper or exposed surface of the button body. However, in many cases it is desired that no portion of the attaching member be visible when the assembly is mounted on an article of clothing, to provide a more pleasing appearance to the assembly. In such applications the desired result has been accomplished by providing an opening in the rear face of the button which is enlarged inside the entrance to provide an internal recess, into which is forced a flanged attaching member so that the flange is expanded outwardly into the recess to retain the button body and the attaching member in assembly. However, this method of attachment is not entirely satisfactory, since when the flange is forced outwardly during the assembly operation, it frequently causes the button body to rupture at the bottom of the opening, where the walls of the body are weakest due to the enlargement of the opening beyond the entrance.

The object of the invention is toprovide an improved button assembly for use with button bodies of brittle material in which an attaching member is secured to a button body in such a manner that the attaching member is not visible when the assembly is mounted on an article of clothing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a button assembly for use with button bodies of brittle material in which the component parts may be readily assembled without danger of breaking the button body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a button assembly in which a flanged attaching member is retained in an opening in a button body by a retaining member formed of relatively soft metal which is adapted to be forced into the opening after the attaching member is inserted therein.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a button assembly in which a flanged attaching member is retained in an opening in a button body by a retaining member which covers the flange and extends into a recess in the walls of the opening.

Other objects of the invention will in part, be obvious, and will, in part, appear hereinafter. For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view, partly cut away, of a button assembly embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation, partly in section, of the 2,723,433 Patented Nov. 15, 1955 button assembly of Fig. 1 attached to a supporting sheet;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a washer used in the assembly of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation, partly in section, of the component parts of the device in position for assemy;

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation, partly in section, of a button assembly embodying the features of the invention, having a pronged ring attaching member;

Fig. 6 is a view in elevation, partly in section, of a button assembly having certain modifications within the scope of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a retaining member used in the assembly of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a view in elevation, partly in section, illustrating the method of assembly of the device of Fig. 6.

Referring now to the drawing, there is illustrated a button assembly 10, which is adapted for attachment to a supporting member 12, such as an article of clothing or the like, by means of a snap fastener half 13, disposed on the other side of the supporting member. The assembly 10 comprises a button body 14, and an attaching member 16 which is held in assembly with the body by means of a retaining washer 18. The button body 14 is commonly formed of a brittle material such as pearl or thermoset plastic or the like, and is provided with an opening 20 in one face thereof, which is enlarged beyond the entrance 22 to form an internal circumferential recess 24 in the walls 26 of the button body about the opening. The attaching member 16, in this embodiment, comprises a shank 28, having an outwardly extending flange 30 on one end thereof, which is of such'a size as to allow it to pass through the entrance 22 and seat against the button body at the bottom of the opening. The washer 18 is preferably formed of sheet metal such as annealed brass or the like which is relatively soft and deformable in comparison to the metal of the flange 30, and is provided with an opening 32 to receive the shank 28, so that when the washer is assembled thereon it covers at least a portion of the flange 30. The outer periphery of the washer extends downwardly over the edge of the flange, and outwardly into the recess 24 to lock the attaching member in assembly with the button body.

The method of assembling the component parts of the button assembly is best illustrated by reference to Fig. 4, in which the attaching member 16 is disposed in position in the button body, and the retaining washer 18 is mounted on the shank 28 in position for the final assembly operation. The washer 18 originally has the shape of the frustrum of a cone, and is so shaped that the greatest diameter of the washer while in this condition is less than the diameter of the entrance 22 of the opening, so that the washer may be placed on the shank 28 and pushed downwardly so that the outer or lower edge 34 enters the opening 20. The partially assembled device is then placed in a die 36 which is shaped to conform to the outer face of the button body, and a punch 38, which has an internal bore 40 and a beveled punch surface 42, is then forced down onto the parts, so that the shank 28 enters the bore 40 of the punch, and the punch surface 42 engages the washer 18 and forces it downwardly into the shape illustrated in Fig. 2. The deformation of the washer causes the outer edge thereof to expand outwardly into the recess 24, thereby locking the washer and the attaching member in the button body.

Referring now to Fig. 5, there is illustrated a button assembly 44 in which a pronged ring attaching member 46 is assembled in a button body 48, by means of a retaining washer 50, in a manner similar to that described hereinbefore in connection with Figs. 1-4. In this embodiment, the attaching member 46 is provided with prongs 51 which are adapted to pierce a piece of cloth or similar material for engagement with a snap fastener half (not shown). The prongs extend upwardly from a base 52, which serves as a flange to be retained by the washer 50. The assembly of the component parts of this modification is similar to the assembly operation previously described.

Referring now to Figs. 6 through 8, there is illustrated a button assembly 54 which is similar to the assembly of Pig. 1, but has certain modifications within the scope of the invention. In this embodiment, the attaching member 16 is retained in the opening 20 in the button body 14 by means of a retaining cap 56, which comprises a base 58 and a peripheral inwardly curled flangeengaging portion 60.

The retaining cap 56 is originally in the form illustrated in Fig. 7, in which the base 58 has a peripheral wall 62 which extends substantially vertically therefrom. To assemble the device, the cap 56 is inserted into the opening 20 so that the base 58 is seated against the bottom of the opening. The flanged end of the shank 23 is placed in the opening in the button body and a hollow punch 64 is then forced downwardly over the attaching member 16 so that the punch surface 66 engages the peripheral wall 62 and curls it inwardly and downwardly to cover the flange 30. During this operation, the lower portion 68 of the wall 62 tends to expand outwardly from the downward force applied by the punch, and from the flattening action imparted thereto during the last portion of the punch stroke, which forces the portion 68 into the recess 22 to lock the cap 56 and the attaching member in assembly with the button body.

By the use of the assembly methods described herein, attaching members may be rapidly and economically assembled in button bodies of brittle material without danger of breaking or damaging the button body, and the resulting assembly is capable of being attached to an article of clothing by forcing the shank of the attaching member therethrough for engagement with a snap fastener half, without danger of damaging the button in the attaching operation.

Since certain obvious modifications may be made in the device without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A button assembly comprising a button body of fragile material having an opening in one face thereof communicating with an internal recess having a peripheral wall extending inwardly from said opening, an attaching member having a shank substantially smaller than the size of the opening in said face with an end thereof assembled in said recess, said end having an outwardly extending peripheral flange of a size substantially equal to the size of the opening in said face, and a retaining member made of soft deformable sheet material disposed in the recess around the attaching member, the retaining member being deformed within the recess to abut the wall thereof and to overlie the flange, the contiguous surfaces of the retaining member and the flange conforming to each other and contacting over the entire area of said surfaces, the portion of the retaining member overlying the flange being spaced from the wall of the recess.

2. A button assembly comprising a button body of fragile material having an opening in one face thereof communicating with an internal recess having a peripheral wall extending inwardly from said opening, an attaching member having a shank substantially smaller than the size of the opening in said face with an end thereof assembled in said recess, said end having an outwardly extending peripheral flange of a size substantially equal to the size of the opening in said face, and a retaining member made of soft deformable sheet material disposed in the recess around the attaching member, the fetflll'llilg member comprising a sheet-material cupshaped part having a base upon which the flange of the attaching member is disposed and a peripheral wall extending upwardly from the base which is deformed within the recess to abut the wall thereof and to overlie the flange, the contiguous surfaces of the retaining memher and the flange conforming to each other and contacting over the entire area of said surfaces, the portion of the retaining member overlying the flange being spaced from the wall of the recess.

3. A button assembly comprising a button body of fragile material having an opening in one face thereof communicating with an internal recess having a peripheral wall extending inwardly from said opening, an attaching member having a shank substantially smaller than the size of the opening in said face with an end thereof assembled in said recess, said end having an outwardly extending peripheral flange of a size substantially equal to the size of the opening in said face, and a retaining member made of soft deformable sheet material disposed in the recess around the attaching member, the peripheral flange of the attaching member providing camming surfaces for engaging and deforming the retaining member upon the application of pressure to the retaining member tending to force the retaining member against the flange, the retaining member being deformed within the recess to abut the wall thereof and to overlie the flange, the contiguous surfaces of the retaining member and the flange conforming to each other and contacting over the entire area of said surfaces, the portion of the retaining member overlying the flange being spaced from the wall of the recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 571,986 Teltschik Nov. 24, 1896 1,165,089 Graf Dec. 21, 1915 2,466,546 Huelster Apr. 5, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,188 Great Britain of 1889 11,026 Great Britain of 1891 297,514 Great Britain Sept. 27, 1928 

